Posts tagged ‘winter’

I’m a fan of winter. I like to play in the snow. I like to snowboard, make snowmen, and I even enjoy shoveling the driveway (as long as it’s not 24 inches of snow). I enjoy sitting by a fire with large snowflakes falling outside. I like looking out of the bedroom window when I get up to see an untouched coat of snow covering the brown ground left behind from the fall. There is something fun about being outside as the snow falls around you. I just like it.

All of that is great.

All of this is terrible:

I hate trudging through half melted slush. I hate walking through the parking lot and getting salt stains all over my pants. I hate the cold rain of a 35 degree day. I hate the black-brown snow that the plow pushes up into my front yard. I hate the white specs of salt that turn my black car into a sliver one.

In the end, I enjoy 10 days of winter and hate the other 120. But those 10 days of fun usually outweigh the bad and hence my reason for being a fan of Winter.

This morning, a drive that normally takes me 30 minutes ended up taking 65 because of a light snow shower. There was no reason other than the weather for the hour long backup, and I got to thinking: there should be a lane for competent winter drivers, those who are able to drive normally in the snow. Let the idiots who get freaked out by 1/100″ inch precipitation drive in the other lanes and trudge along.

In order to be able to drive in the special lane, you would have to pass and extra driving test at your local license bureau. Upon passing the driving test, you’d get a special sticker for the plate of your car as well as a different license, a Competent Drivers License, so that you could drive in the lane. In the summer and/or good conditions, the lane could be used for carpools or HOV (High-occupancy vehiclie) lane.